Time of the Vorn
by Morrigayn DeWyvern
Summary: Adopted from Sparklespepper. What if Carriers had cycles like a human female? M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I adopted this fic from Sparklespepper with her permission. I am doing a bit of a rewrite on her work and posting it under my nom de plume. More, will of course, be following up that will be completely my work. This is my first foray into Transformers: Animated. I grew upon G1 mainly and caught pieces of Beast Wars. I am a huge fan of Transformers: Prime and all my stories thus far have been in Prime. I have seen a handful of episodes and a few snippets on you tube of Animated, and I have an Animated book that I read to my daughter at bed time. If I am ooc or got something wrong, please let me know.**

"Ugh, the sooner the city is rebuilt, the better." said Bumblebee as he sat on a on a stack of I-Beams. He hated seeing buildings torn down and so many humans homeless or jobless. He kicked his peds aimlessly while looking at all of the destruction wondering how long it would take this time. He was sick and tired of perpetually cleaning up after the Decepticons.

The space bridge team was helping around the city after another round of failed attacks from the Decepticons. While they did not capture a shard from the All Spark, Lugnut and Blitzwing destroyed large swaths of the industrial complex of the city. The Autobots were volunteered to clean up the mess and rebuild at the behest of the mayor.

"The more you sit around and complain, the longer it takes." said Optimus. "Why don't you help Ratchet?" Optimus spied the old medic working hard on a blasted pile of debris by himself.

Bee shrugged then got up and headed towards Ratchet. Ratchet, using his magnets to pick up bent and melted I-beams, noticed the yellow mech dragging his peds in Ratchet's general direction.

"What's the matter, kid?" he said impatiently. Ratchet was an ancient bot and was feeling the effects of the hard work on is protoform and was extremely irritated that Bumblebee had not pulled his weight the entire solar cycle.

"Boss-bot sent me to help ya." said Bee as he flopped down on a pile of concrete rubble.

Ratchet rolled his optics. "Off your aft and your peds then! Start hauling that rubble to put in the waste containers that Bulkhead will be hauling later."

Bulkhead has the task of hauling off the 40 yard containers after they were filled with debris to the recycling and trash centers.

"Fine." Bee grumbled as he got off of the pile and began to slowly fill the empty container.

For the rest of the month, Bumblebee was more a nuisance than a help. Bumblebee was irritable and moody whether working or hanging out at home. Bumblebee flew off the handle at Bulkhead over his accidentally stepping on Bumblebee's ped when the large bot was about go into stasis lock from exhaustion from hauling the last of the garbage and debris and repainting the newly built structures. Bee was late every day for his patrol and Prowl was left picking up his slack making it difficult for the ninja-bot to meditate and do his part in replanting trees and flowers to encourage wildlife to return to the city as well as beautify it for the inhabitants. Bumblebee argued with Optimus over every work order he was given. Ratchet was not amused and locked himself in the medbay away from everyone and threw wrenches at whoever stuck their faceplates through the door.

One day, Bumblebee had gotten into a fierce row with Sari over which video games to play. "I quit!" He yelled at the top of his vocalize and threw the control on the ground as he stomped out of the recreation area to his recharge room.

_"Grr." _Sari said after Bumblebee stormed out of the recreation area when she refused to play his game again.

"Something the matter, kid?" Sari looked up to see Ratchet peeking into the door. He had heard the ruckus down in the medbay and had to take a look. Sari was usually pretty tolerant of the spastic, young bot.

She sighed. "It's Bumblebee. He's being a real glitch."

"Eh, don't worry about him, kid." Ratchet said as he turned to leave the recreation room and return to the medbay. "He's fine. Just cranky he actually has to pull his weight for once."

Sari turned the gaming console off and jumped up to follow Ratchet."Are you sure? He has never been this cranky or out of sorts for so long?"

Ratchet thought of it for a minute. "Actually, I have. He's been really argumentative lately."

"Who?" Ratchet and Sari turn their heads to see Bulkhead at the door glancing around to make sure the yellow bot wasn't within audio shot.

"Bumblebee," answered Sari, "Haven't you noticed how weird he has been acting?"

"Well, yeah." Bulkhead said as he entered the room. "He seems to be upset a lot."

"Who?" The group turned to find Optimus entering the door. He had heard the ruckus and was looking for Bumblebee to give him a severe dressing down. Optimus was fed up with Bumblebee's insubordination.

"Bumblebee," answered Sari, "Have you notice how weird he's been acting?"

"Yes, I have. I was wondering if he has picked up a virus or a processor glitch. He wasn't been acting like himself." said Optimus.

"Who?" Turn again revealing Prowl who had quietly walked into the medbay unbeknownst to any of them.

"Bumblebee," again answered Sari, "You notice anything weird about him?"

"Indeed, I have. He's been craving odd things. He is cranky and tired most of the time as well as complaining of aches and pains." said Prowl.

"Really?" said Ratchet. He had not really been paying attention to the conversation until Prowl in his carefully modulated tones began ticking off symptoms like a nurse drone.

"Sounds like he's having..." Ratchet optics widen before cursing out loud.

"Scrap!" he yelled, startling the others with its volume. Ratchet ran to the door and peeked around to see if Bumblebee was in the hall.

"What's the matter, Ratchet?" asked Prime, seeing the medic's uncharacteristic behavior.

"How long has this been going on, actually?" asked Ratchet as he continue to keep an optic out for the minibot. The others were confused for a minute then replied.

"Well...", stated Optimus said lost in thought, "He seemed...down starting around the time we had to clean up."

"And lazy or tired." said Bulkhead remembering having to stay on top of Bumblebee to get him to do his work.

"And irritable." said Sari with some petulance at her friend's recent behavior.

"And eating strange combinations of oil, energon, metals and minerals." said Prowl. He had found Bumblebee raiding some of the supplies for the gardens and chomping down on fertilizer saying he was craving it.

Ratchet cursed again. Those were some of the signs. "Has he been complaining about constant pains?" he asked.

"Yeah." said Sari. "Sometimes he complains about processor aches out of the blue or cramps in his fuel tanks."

Ratchet cursed some more. Yup, those were the signs. He closed the door and turn back to the others.

"Okay, for the next month Bumblebee is not going to be himself." he said.

"Why? What's wrong with him?" asked Sari.

"Nothing's wrong with him. In fact, it's normal for a bot like him."

"For a bot like him? What does that mean?" asked Optimus.

Ratchet pause for a moment, thinking about how he was going to explain Bee's issue to the human girl and the mechs. "You understand the term Carrier, correct?"

"Yes, it's a bot that is able to become sparked…pregnant…a femme." answered Prowl.

"Yes, usually. But since femmes were so rare, some mechs were sparked from the All Spark into frames with both gestational tanks and valve along with spike and transfluid tanks making them able to carry a sparkling or get another sparked."

"So the males can get pregnant, too." said Sari wide eyed.

"No, most males cannot get pregnant. Only carriers and femmes."

"Okay, but what does a carrier have to do with Bumblebee?" asked Optimus.

"Well, most of the mech carriers turned into pleasure slaves or breeders. They were desired as breeders by Autobots and in high demand as pleasure slaves by the Decepticons. There's no real telling as to how many are still out there."

Ratchet looked angry and sad at the memories of the few Carriers that had survived the Great War in either faction. Those that didn't offline themselves lived lives with traumatized sparks and processors from what they endured as breeders or slaves. Autobots had tried to make restitution and apologize for what they called the demands of war, but most Carriers hid their identities and tried to disappear from Cybertronian society. No more Carrier's had been sparked from the All Spark, but some did continue to procreate leading to a small, incremental increase in their secretive numbers over the vorns.

"So, what are you saying, doc-bot?" said Bulkhead, a little confused as to why the doc would be telling them this. Ratchet took a breath before telling them what he suspected.

"What you describe to me match the symptoms of what Carriers go through when they're in their...time of the vorn."

"So, you saying...?" Optimus sputtered.

"Yes I am, Prime. Bumblebee sounds like he is a Carrier and his gestational tank has entered its purging cycle."

Everyone sat their looking at Ratchet in confused shock.

Bumblebee had been listening at the door. He stumbled back and covered his mouth with his hands to keep from crying out. His optics were wide in horror and coolant ran down his cheek struts. He ran as quickly and quietly as he could out of the base. He transformed into his car mode and tore out of city. He had to get away.


	2. Chapter 2

Bumblebee tore along the highway leading out of Detroit. He was literally running scared. He knew what had happened to Carriers from his classes in Autoboot Camp. He didn't know if he was a Carrier. Bumblebee had been raised in a Sparkling Center and knew nothing of his sparking. He needed to get away for a few days and try to figure things out for himself and decide what to do if he was a Carrier.

Bumblebee was so caught up in his thoughts he did not notice the green muscle car following him. Lockdown had noticed the young Autobot alone and could not pass up the opportunity to follow Bumblebee. Those stingers would make a great addition to his collection of mods. Lockdown continued to trail Bumblebee noticing the reckless driving and excessive speed out of the city. Lockdown's curiosity was piqued.

Lockdown followed at a distance for over an hour. They were both well out of Detroit and beginning to drive into the open land surrounding the city when Lockdown decided to make his move. He quickly caught up to the little yellow car. Bumblebee recognized the car and sped up. Lockdown easily kept up with the little bot.

"Where ya going, Bumblebee?" Lockdown taunted over the comm.

Bumblebee did not answer but engaged his thrusters. He shot off in a cloud of smoke and squealing tires. Lockdown snickered and engaged his own thrusters. Business with the Decepticons had been lucrative lately, and Lockdown had upgraded thrusters to his frame. Lockdown easily kept pace with Bumblebee.

"Gonna call your friends, little Bee?" Lockdown taunted again. The yellow bot was known to be hotheaded and notorious for trying to prove himself better and stronger than everyone.

"I am the best fighter, and the fastest thing on wheels, Lockdown. Eat my exhaust!" Bumblebee responded as he put on another burst of speed.

At that moment Lockdown sprayed a mist of oil, and Bumblebee skid uncontrollably off the road and over the guardrail. Bumblebee turned over and over before slamming hard into large black oak tree which were native to the area. Bumblebee's armor crumpled and tore as his car mode wrapped itself around the tree.

Lockdown chuckled as he slowed to a stop and reversed to the place where Bumblebee left the road. A quick scan showed that Bumblebee was unconscious and while the damage looked bad, it was mostly superficial to his car mode. Lockdown quickly transformed into his 'bot mode and grinned. "You may be the fastest, Bumblebot, but you aren't very smart."

Lockdown slid down the embankment and with a few deft touches to transformation cogs caused the unconscious 'bot to transform back into his 'bot form. Lockdown nodded and hummed at the sight. He would be able to trade Bumblebee to the Decepticons for good credits or weaponry…minus the stingers of course. That was Lockdown's fair salvage. A quick transmission had Lockdown's ship undocking from its hidden shelter. It was shielded from Autbots and this world's sensors. Within minutes, the ship was silently hovering above Lockdown's coordinates. Lockdown activated the teleportation. Both Lockdown and Bumblebee disappeared in a green flash.

Meanwhile, back at the Autobot home, Ratchet was trying to answer the multitude of questions being thrown at him.

"How did you not know Bumblebee is a Carrier?" Optimus asked.

"Has Bumblebee had a purge cycle before?" Prowl murmured.

"Does it hurt?" Sari asked with wide eyes.

"How long does it last and will Bumblebee be a glitch the whole time?" Bulkhead asked in confusion. He hadn't really paid attention in Autoboot Camp classes on history and science.

"One question at a time, younglings!" Ratchet yelled in frustration. He had to recalibrate his audios to compensate for the ringing in them.

"Sit down." Ratchet commanded. All the Autobots and the young girl found themselves a seat and sat silently waiting for Ratchet to speak.

"First off, I don't know if Bumblebee is a Carrier only that he is exhibiting symptoms of a Carrier entering his time of the vorn. Secondly, many Carriers found ways to hide their nature and if they had sparklings that were Carriers hide their natures, too. Bumblebee was raised in a Sparkling Center where orphaned, abandoned and All Sparked sparklings were raised in batches. It is very possible, he does not know his Carrier status and thinks he is a mech."

"Prowl, if he had a purge cycle before now, it would be in his medical file. There is nothing. He is a very young 'bot. If he is a Carrier, this is probably his first cycle."

"If he is a Carrier, he will start purging with in a solar cycle to an orn, two weeks. It is very similar to a human female menstrual cycle in that his gestational tank will cramp and open to release the contents…clotted energon, offlined gestational nanites, circuitry, oil and other fluids. He should purge for an orn although more or less time is normal. After that his gestational tank will begin to prepare to conceive another life. Carriers and femmes purge only once a vorn, a Cybertronian year, about a century to humans. As to his state of processor, he may be grouchy and continue to have cravings as his body adjusts to the oncoming purge." Ratchet finished and hoped he'd answered their questions.

"Now, get out you guys. I need to get Bumblebee in here for a checkup." Ratchet made shooing motions to get the team out of his medbay so he could prepare.

The Autobots and Sari left the medbay. Ratchet sent a comm. to Bumblebee which was not answered.

"Optimus, is Bumblebee on base? I commed him to enter the medbay. I am not getting a response." Ratchet sent over the general comm.

Optimus tried to comm. Bumblebee with no results. "Negative, Ratchet. I'll send Prowl over to look into Bumblebee's recharge room."

Optimus commed Prowl. Prowl went to Bumblebee's room and found it empty. "Negative, Optimus. Bumblebee is not in his room."

Optimus then commed Bulkhead and Sari to see if he was with one of them. Both responded in the negative.

Optimus gathered the team and did a search of their home as well as the surrounding area. Bumblebee was not on base.

"Where did he get off to?" Ratchet groused. "Why isn't he responding?"

Optimus said, "Maybe he was still angry with Sari and took a drive to cool off. Let's give him a few hours. If he hasn't come back in four hours, we'll start looking."

Ratchet went back in the medbay to do some repairs on broken machinery. Prowl went off to his tree to meditate in peace. Sari decided to continue to play her video games. Bulkhead started painting a nature scene. Optimus decided to man the cameras to watch for human or Decepticon criminal activity. All of them were enjoying the relaxed atmosphere since the loud and grumpy yellow bot was away.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Sorry about the name mix up. I was writing and reviewing this while at work. Long Arm does come into play later._

Bumblebee woke with a groan. He shook his helm and tried to reboot his optics. Myriad aches and pains assaulted his protoform and processor. He finally opened his optics and blearily looked around to get his bearings. He remembered a fast paced chase with Lockdown. Bumblebee snorted as he tried the bands on his torso, arms and legs. Stuck! He must have lost that race. As he looked around, he found that he was in a holding cell somewhere. He tried his scanner and found it blocked. He could not ascertain his location. He then tried the internal and general Autobot frequency and communication. That was met with static.

As Bumblebee pulled on the bands pondering an escape attempt, Lockdown entered the holding cell.

"Well, glad to see you are awake, Bumblebot. Now the question is where were you off to in such a hurry?"

Lockdown was always curious about strange happenings of either faction. Always a chance for information or items to be traded.

"Nothing. Out for a drive." Bumblebee tried to lie. Lockdown gave him a look that said he was no impressed.

"You need to try better than that, Autobot. You guys are never alone for long, and you are always causing problems. Hmm?" Lockdown teased.

Bumblebee turned his helm away from Lockdown and offlined his optics. Lockdown had hit closer to the mark than he would care to admit. Everyone seemed mad at him these days…then there was the Carrier thing.

Lockdown leaned in close to the bot's faceplates. "Cat got your glossa? I can wait. Haven't seen anyone out looking for you. We'll see who wants you bad enough to pay…Autobots or Decepticons. Still you do have something I have wanted for a while."

Bumblebee's optics onlined at Lockdown's words. "You don't want my stingers; man…they don't even work at full capacity..."

Lockdown placed a hand on the young scout's mouth, "Shh. I know what I am doing. This won't hurt if you cooperate."

Bumblebee froze at those words. He had heard whispers of Lockdown's antics as well as the cryptic remarks Ratchet made concerning his EM generator that was stolen many vorns ago. He knew Lockdown was not making an idle threat…still he could not just sit still and allow the mercenary merchant take his stingers.

"I can take what you can dish out, 'Con!" Bumblebee yelled with more bravado than he felt.

Lockdown chuckled, "Have it your way then." He turned to gather tools off of the shelves. "You may change your processor though."

Lockdown set saws, wrenches, screwdrivers and other paraphernalia down next to Bumblebee. Bumblebee did notice the absence of pain dampeners and medication. "Let's see what we got here?"

Cables snakes out of Lockdown's shoulders and neck. At the tips were connector spikes and pins. With a few deft touches, Lockdown pulled the covers to various ports in the young bot's body open and jacked into Bumblebee. Bumblebee tried to strengthen his firewalls as well as fight the gross intrusion with programs within his processor. All to no avail.

Lockdown's processor had been augmented through the years. The basic processor and standard issue firewalls that Bumblebee sported could not begin to make the computations and keep up the data streams and speed of the mercenary's. Furthermore, Lockdown also had various hacking programs and subroutines augmented into his processor and frame. Lockdown seamlessly integrated into Bumblebee's systems. Bumblebee watched is helpless horror as his body transformed to reveal his stingers. He tried to scream but was muted with a quick command from Lockdown.

Lockdown reached over to the table, picked a tool and began to remove the stingers. Pain radiated through Bumblebee as transformation lines, cogs and protoform were deftly sliced through. Energon, oil, coolant and lubricants ran in rivulets or sprayed out from severed lines. With a few deft pinches, Lockdown sealed the wounds. He noticed the young Autobot's reactions and grinned evilly as he removed the stinger from Bumblebee's left arm. Immediately, he moved to take the right stinger. The whole procedure was over in less than half hour. Bumblebee could not cry out but his ventilations were hitching and coolants were running from his optics.

"I told you that you may change your mind." Lockdown said snidely.

Bumblebee began to tremble. Lockdown's HUD began to flash warnings concerning the yellow scout's spark rate and energon pressure. His spark rate was very high and the energon pressure low signaling shock. He turned the pain sensors off and began to run a deep diagnostic scan and initiating protocols to stabilize the young bot. Bumblebee was not worth much to either faction offlined.

Lockdown came across partitioned memory banks and suppressed programming that gave anomalous readings. His curiosity was piqued. He easily hacked through the programing. Information and programming began to unfurl. His optic ridges raised in surprise. Lockdown deepened his diagnostics into the working frame and protoform of the young bot. Memories and information flashed across the young scout's HUD concerning his Carrier protocols and Lockdown was quietly reading and integrating this information. Bumblebee slumped in defeat as the mercenary merchant began to laugh.

Lockdown quickly moved to provide adequate first aid to the young bot instead of a rough patch job. Bumblebot was worth more than all the stingers in the universe.

"Well…well…Bumblebee, was that why you were running? A Carrier? Here I had thought I had seen the last of them at the end of the Great War. What a prize! Let's see who will place the highest bid…Ultra Magnus…Megatron or some neutral I haven't come across yet!"

Lockdown quickly retracted his cables from Bumblebee. Bumblebee sobbed in fear. Lockdown set an IV drip into Bumblebee's venous ports. The IV was medical grade energon flush with minerals and ores. In the other ports, he inserted coolant and lubricants.

Lockdown patted Bumblebee on the peds. "Rest well. I'll be back after my recharge cycle to clean and repair your dented frame as well as give you a good paint job and buff. You will be a pretty sight to behold for the bidders. You'll make someone a good breeder."

Lockdown turned to leave the room and switched off the light. Bumblebee was left in the dark with new protocols and terrible memories swimming through his processor. He cried.

"Please, Primus, let my team find me." Bumblebee whispered as he fell into recharge.


End file.
